Lifeguard in Drain
Location: Black Butte Ranch, Oregon Date: July 8, 1989 Story On July 8, 1989 at a resort in Black Butte Ranch, Oregon, eighteen-year-old Palmer MaLarcey was enjoying his first week at his summer job as a lifeguard. Another lifeguard on duty that day was B.J. Hendricks. "I was down watching the shallow end. Palmer was down watching the deep end," said B.J.. It was Missy Sanis' second summer at the pool. "I was on the early shift for lifeguarding that day. Two little boys had come over to me and said, 'I dropped my goggles and they went down into the drain.' So the area that Palmer was guarding kind of cleared out," said Missy. So Palmer said that he was going to go the drain to get the goggles. B.J. saw him dive in and then asked to borrow someone's goggles. Then he dove down to the drain at the deep end. Palmer put his left arm in the drain to feel for the missing goggles. It got stuck and he got trapped. Bubbles were bursting out of him which meant that he ran out of air and drowned. Missy could see him at the bottom of the pool, that he was unconscious, and wasn't moving. She blew her whistle to evacuate the pool while B.J. dove in to help. "I went down and looked down at him. I gave him a couple of hard tugs and he wouldn't budge," said B.J.. Missy ran for the phone and called 911. Her call came into the communications center at 1:49pm. "I started panicking and I went up to gasp for air and someone yelled at me to turn off the pumps," said B.J.. He turned off the whole system but didn't know if that would work. Missy dove in and gave Palmer a mouth to mouth breath underwater. "B.J. had turned off the pump and he couldn't free him," said Missy. Off duty paramedic John Powell was at home only four blocks away when he heard the ambulance being dispatched. "His arm seemed to be stuck but it became free and we pulled him up to the surface," said John. Palmer had been trapped underwater for nearly six minutes and John and B.J. did CPR. Fire chief Darrell Churchill also responded from his house less than a mile away. They loaded him into the ambulance and dispatched a helicopter to the scene. In the ambulance, Palmer started having a seizure. Palmer was placed in the helicopter and put under the care of chief flight nurse Julie Mollen. His condition continued to deteriorate. "I called Dr. Bellet at the medical control and told him that he might have a brain injury," said Julie. Palmer was taken to St. Charles Medical Center where emergency physician Dr. John Bellet took over his care. "We gave him a drug to quiet him down," said Dr. Bellet. Palmer was still in a coma when Missy and B.J. got to the hospital. "A nurse came out and talked to me and told me that he can't talk but he regained consciousness and make eye contact with people. They didn't see any signs of brain damage. So that was definitely the happiest moment," said Missy. "When I first came out of it the priest was talking to me and asked me if I had any brain damage. I turned to the nurse and asked her. She said that I had no brain damage," said Palmer. Category:1989 Category:Oregon Category:Entrapment Category:Drownings Category:Seizures